DCF to pilot community Family First pathway May 4; issues new RFP for no-eject residential placements
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Summary
Secretary Howard told the joint child-welfare oversight committee that Kansas will test a community referral pathway for four state-funded Family First services starting May 4, and that DCF has issued an RFP seeking residential providers who will accept 'no eject/no reject' placements and meet new outcome measures.
Secretary Howard of the Department for Children and Families updated the joint committee on a package of system changes and pilots that the agency plans to test over the coming months. The department will begin offering a community pathway for four state-funded Family First prevention services on May 4, the secretary said, allowing families to request supports through trusted community providers without opening a formal DCF case.
The community pathway will be capped by provider caseload—Secretary Howard used 15% as an example for one program regionally—to avoid exceeding program budgets. "It's just a way to manage the budget between, you know, for the overall program so we don't exceed the budget," she said. Families and community referral sources such as schools, hospitals and family-resource centers may make referrals; providers can also self-refer and some have volunteered to expand capacity to accept community-referred clients.
Why it matters: The change is intended to offer supports earlier in a family’s trajectory and reduce crisis-driven entries into foster care. Howard said DCF will monitor use and outcomes and take additional federal-plan amendments to the Administration for Children and Families if the pilot supports federal-match services.
Howard also reported progress on the state’s CCWIS case-management information system, which she said is in the design phase with training slated for July 2028 and a go-live date in November 2028.
Separately, DCF said it has issued a request for proposals for foster-care residential placement services that would move from provider agreements to contractor relationships. The RFP aims to embed outcomes and performance expectations—timely permanence, discharge to family-like settings and stronger staffing ratios—into contracts and specifically solicits providers willing to offer "no eject/no reject" beds for youth with complex needs. Howard said DCF plans to award multiple contracts starting July 1 and will set outcomes (for example, targets for discharge to family-like settings) the contracts must meet.
On federal oversight, Howard said Kansas submitted a short, four-page Performance Improvement Plan under the federal Home for Every Child pilot and received ACF approval on March 26. The plan restructures reporting toward monthly, population-level outcome measures—prevention, length of stay, and permanency—rather than labor-intensive, case-level reviews. "We're the first state with a democratic governor to sign on to this," she said, noting the state intends to use the pilot to refine data and policy.
What remains uncertain: DCF emphasized it is starting small and will evaluate whether community referrals reduce waitlists or simply reassign slots. Howard acknowledged some federally funded Family First services live on a federal clearinghouse and will require additional federal planning to expand.
Next steps and oversight: DCF will monitor the community pathway, report monthly performance to the committee, and proceed cautiously on federal-plan amendments. The committee asked for follow-up on capacity metrics, the list of Family First services included in the pilot and any pressure on existing DCF-funded slots. The secretary committed to providing those details in future briefings.
